Canada

As the year comes to a close, GP is taking a look back at the 10 most read features of 2009.

AUSTRALIA - Officials at the Australian Future Fund are in preliminary discussions with two Canadian pension plans about partnering up to acquire Australia's largest toll-road provider Transurban Group.

CANADA - Railroad operator Canadian Pacific Railway plans to make a voluntary contribution of C$500m (US$477.34m) to its defined benefit plan, the firm said.

CANADA - Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has completed a US$5bn debt offering in what it called the largest non-government guaranteed offering by a Canadian issuer in US dollars.

CANADA - Canadian defined benefit (DB) pension funds will struggle to meet future obligations to members, according to a survey by RBC Dexia Investor Services.

CANADA - Canada's three largest pension funds have endorsed a new action plan to help Toronto evolve into a global hub for the retirement financial sector.

GLOBAL - More than half of pension funds in Europe and the Americas have implemented some sort of liability driven investment (LDI) strategy in their portfolios, a poll by fiduciary manager SEI found.

CANADA - Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec plans to issue C$8bn (US$7.6bn) worth of bonds in Canada, the US and Europe by the end of 2010 as part of a refinancing plan.

CANADA - The Canada Pension Plan Fund reported a 4.6% return in the quarter ending September 30, and a C$7.2bn (US$6.8bn) jump in assets.

AUSTRALIA/CANADA - Transurban Group, Australia's biggest toll road operator, rejected an unsolicited A$6.8bn ($6.2bn) takeover offer from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Bloomberg News reported.